Bea B.
Yelp
JB has the look down pat. It's airy, open and inviting with natural wood counters displaying gorgeous-looking bread. In addition to edibles, John Baker sells nifty beverages. On offer are freshly pressed/squeezed juices packaged in lidded jars with arty-looking labels, 'natural' ZH-made soda and organic teas from Germany and, for the mainstream soda drinker, Coke. Behind the counter stands a fancy-looking espresso machine that makes a decent cafe creme. Lactose-intolerant folks have the choice of almond or rice milk, I believe, for their bevvies.
The (organic) bread selection covers the basics and then some. The selection includes tasty baguettes, Zöpfe--both vegan and butter varieties--Dinkel loaves, Vollkornbrot and (green) olive bread. JB also produces chocolate rolls that remind me of the 'chocolate thing' of Berkeley's Cheeseboard fame, raisin rolls and gipfeli. For the lunch crowd there are pizza slices, sandwiches on both on crusty bread and pretzels and to-go portions of fennel salad. JB also sells pretzels, both wee and standard size and muesli in to-go containers. Apropos 'to-go' there's a bit of a 'steh-cafe' space near one of the entrances, and, usually, a few chairs set up outside, but, in the main, JB is a buy-and-go sort of place.
This place is worth a stop-in simply because there's nothing else quite like John Baker in Zurich. Let the smell of fresh bread wash over you!
Psst! 'John Baker' is actually a collection of business-savvy Swiss.